A/N: I actually do not own the Malik character, I admit he's a rip-off from Yugioh and is actually one of the only reasons I watched the show at all so…DON'T HURT ME!!! (Cowers)

XP

Aizira lead Bano along the trail at his side, I was behind her, while Tormal and Alzik were on the other side. We were going as swiftly as we could without letting our guard down, but we knew, we knew without a shadow of a doubt that an ambush was coming.

And so when an arrow was sent our way, aimed straight at my head, it wasn't exactly surprising.

I saw it coming seconds before it did, and to my own great surprise, caught it in mid air with my hand just before it hit my temple, and tossed it aside. I knew better than to let my own surprise at this show, but still. How in the world did I do that!?

And then something from the game came to my mind, from right out of Warrior Within. "Fool, I am the Empress of Time, I know your every move, even before you do!" And suddenly the real reason as to why, in every fight, my opponents' moves had been so predictable ever since I'd come back from the island was because of that, because I was Seeing several seconds into the future. Or rather, I knew what was coming, I simply knew. And the reason Orzan had become easier and easier to predict…was because that skill was being honed, and I had been using it, even now, without even realizing it!

Well, that was handy, especially when the second arrow flew, a flaming one, and I caught it at its base before it hit the cart and threw it onto the ground so I could stamp out the fire with my boot. "Come down here and fight, cowards!!!" I called. And a moment later, I seriously wished I hadn't done that.

There were way too many of them, and they all appeared at once in all directions, making a complete circle. There were more then forty, more than fifty I didn't doubt.

Me and my big mouth.

I swore under my breath, just as Aizira stared around, alarmed, and gasped. Pointing up at the top of a ruin which created a bit of a cliff-face, where, oh-so-dramatically, the one who was most obviously the leader appeared.

He was wearing an outfit that resembled the leather the prince wore on the Island of Time, only instead of leather it was just a tight-fitting shirt, designed, I thought, to show off his muscles. He had the slightly poofy pants thing going on with the boots, and he also had a dramatically flapping cape coming up behind him.

He was Egyptian, no doubt about that. With his dark skin, eye makeup, and gold jewelry on, it wasn't that hard to figure out. But what really threw me for a loop was the platinum blond hair that grew down to his shoulders, a slight spike to it as it, too, became subject to the wind.

If I wasn't already engaged…or currently pretending to be a guy, I probably would have started flirting with him…on the other hand, maybe I'd do that anyway. Not only was he hot, but seeing the look on his face would be more than worth the beating I would likely receive afterwards. Too bad my flirting skills were lacking…no, check that, they were nonexistent.

He was looking down at Aizira specifically, and the sun was behind him so I couldn't quite make out the look in his eye, but I got the picture from Aizira's look of unhappy recognition that they knew each other.

Wonderful.

"Impressive," His voice boomed throughout the ruins, and I had the feeling that he was talking to me. "You have some obvious skill there, I could use a talent like yours. I'll give you the chance to join me, keep in mind that if you refuse I'll have to get rid of you the unpleasant way." He told me.

"Thank you, but I prefer to stay on the side with the lovely lady if it's all the same to you." I told him.

"Amon!!! I don't care if we have to count on you to get us out of this, you keep your hands off of my sister, you hear me!?" Alzik exclaimed from the other side of the cart.

Aizira smacked herself in the forehead, "NOT NOW ALZIK!!!" she yelled.

The man laughed, clearly amused by this, but the leader didn't look like he approved of this. His arms had crossed over his chest and his posture was very stiff. "Afraid I've already laid claim to that one…Amon, was it? But you could have your choice of any other woman we find later on." He said.

"I don't think the lady quite agrees with you're 'claim', personally." I answered.

"Don't be a fool, Young Amon, join me, or die, those are your only options." He told me with a growl.

"We must agree to disagree then, because to me my options are join you or kill you, and I prefer the latter, personally." I said to him. "Remember what I taught you about fighting several opponents at once." I murmured to Aizira in an undertone, and she nodded, "Don't show fear, and don't show pain. I'm going after the leader, once he's down his followers will fall with him." I said.

"Be careful, Amon, he's not what he appears to be." She said swiftly, and then, with a loud, "HIYA!" She smacked Bano in the behind with the flat of her blade, and he went running down the path, leaving us with only ourselves to protect.

"Let the horse go, the real treasure is still trapped!" The leader ordered.

The fight began.

Many converged upon me, far more than the others, but that was understandable. It felt like the old days in the Island of Time, fighting against several enemies at once, only these men…were men, they were not nearly as strong as the sand guards, those raiders, and so the first time I jumped over one, I didn't expect to have defeated them so soon, but his body, like so many sand creatures, split clean in half down the middle. The only difference was that his body didn't disappear, and while sand creatures don't react when one of their own falls like that, humans do.

Fear was evident on their faces and in their minds as they fought against me, some ran, others met their deaths as I cut a path to the ruin block where the leader was standing.

I did a virtical wall run and hit the circle that was there with my dagger, a horizontal wall run lead me to another circle, one which I could jump up to grab onto a ledge and pull myself up higher. Another ledge, and I jumped over to a pillar which I shimmied up until I was facing that platform. I jumped, swords extended, and landed in front of the leader.

"Impressive." He repeated, "You make all of that look easy, but it ends here, Young Amon, though I hate to see such talent go to waste. We could have been friends."

"Sorry, but I can't be friends with a man who walks around wearing woman's jewelry." I said.

He sneered at me, "I am not even going to dignify that with a response." He said, drawing his swords.

"I hate to break it to you, but you just did." I said, and our blades locked.

"You will pay for that smart mouth of yours." He hissed.

He was no novice fighter, that was obvious within the first moment of our battle. His skill was excellent, he was swift and powerful, but for all his prowess he wouldn't have stood a chance against Orzan, and especially not the Empress of Time.

He was sweating, and I knocked him back for the third time, one of his swords went flying, but I wasn't going to strike him while he was down. I let him get his sword, "Why is it that you want Aizira so much, if I might ask?"

He glared at me, but a sinister smile crossed his lips, one that I didn't like it, as if he knew something I didn't. But I couldn't see what it was, I knew for a fact that the others were doing all right for themselves. Was it Aizira herself? "Surely even you could see the attraction of a woman who fights like a man." He said, licking his lips obscenely. "Aizira is a diamond in the rough, all other women pale in comparison to her. Beauty is no match for strength, and Aizira's strength is her beauty, and I'll have none but the most glorious of women as my wife. I wouldn't really expect a boy like you to understand."

"I do understand, what I don't understand is how you intend to win her love through force. Or are you even after love? You just want her as a trophy don't you? Well, I'm afraid I'm not going to let that happen." I said.

"I see, so you are openly declaring yourself my rival for her? A foolish move, boy, I won't be merciful." He said.

"Merciful? Last I checked, I was the one winning this fight." I said, lunging after him. Our swords clashed and the battle turned into one of strength. We were almost evenly matched.

Almost.

"Perhaps…you are, indeed, a great warrior. And my obvious superior." He growled. He admitted this without hesitation, but his confidence was still strong, even though he was loosing the battle of strength, he was still smirking at me. He was on his knees now, but that smirk had not left him. It was eerie, and disturbing. What was he planning?

"Then perhaps you should ask for my mercy." I said, though not letting my guard down for one second.

"No, I don't think that will be necessary." He said, laughing.

I saw it seconds before it happened, and I did a back flip away from him just as it did. A blast of some powerful blue light erupted from him, turning into a smoky substance which rose high, high into the air, and converging upon itself. Weaving around in complex patterns, the images behind the smoke became distorted and confused, a blur of color that changed, warped, twisted into different parts, and morphed into a texture that was completely different from what had once been there.

A shape emerged, a form, a beast.

It was a dragon. A huge blue dragon, with a head half the size of a man, probably a little less than stories tall when standing on all fours, and a wing span of what had to be 20 yards all the way across. And that blue smoke didn't leave, it became black, burning all around the dragon's shape and in its eyes. It was an incredible sight, the bandit leader had to be only slightly taller than one of its legs, and its scales glistened in the sunlight, beautiful and dazzling with silver claws, silver horns, and silver teeth.

The bandit leader continued to laugh as I stared at the creature, transfixed with both awe and some fear. I was still a moment too long.

Before I could react to what was coming, the dragon's tail whipped around, grabbing me around the middle, and it threw me. It threw me far, farther. Deep into the ruins, and when I fell, I fell down a black hole of some underground structure built many years ago.

I had only one option, I made the ring on my finger disappear, and though my transformation was faster now and no longer required me to hover dramatically in the air, I had the daggertail, and I was able to use it.

"That cheating b(beep)!!!" I yelled to myself, unable to hold it in. I was furious, that was not the sort of thing a true warrior does!

And also, I was jealous. Why the heck couldn't I have an inner demon like that!?

Not that I thought it was his inner demon, no, I seriously doubted that. But what it was and where it had come from…now that was another matter altogether. I didn't think that sort of power existed in this world! What the crap!?

I shuddered, how long would it take for the others to realize I was gone? Or, better yet, for that man to force Aizira to marry him and whatnot. I didn't find it encouraging that the only man to ever openly admit to having the hotts for strong women like Aizira and myself had mental issues.

Oh well, I guess it was time for a rescue mission. At least seeing the look on that guy's face when I 'come back to life' will be worth all this trouble.

XD

The ruins were designed similarly to the games, only the traps were a bit different, and so were the paths to get from one place to another. Switches were rusted shut, so I had to hit them hard in order to work them, but when I did get them in, they stayed that way, so there was no time limit. I was down deep in the bowels of the ruins, I had to be several yards under ground, but I'd met nothing that could count as being 'alive' other than big rats. And those didn't even bother me. They ran away the moment they saw me, obviously spooked by my gold, glowing eyes.

I hadn't noticed before, but I could also see in the dark in this form. I guess that makes sense, with glowing eyes you'd think I'd be able to make my own light.

It'd been a while since I needed to use the daggertail, but it sped things up considerably, and I don't think I'd have been able to get through the ruins without it, nor do I think the prince would have been able to either. Thankfully my golden braid was content to stay short and hidden in my hood, else I might have had trouble transforming into and out of this form.

After a while, I found myself in an enormous room which resembled that of a cathedral. It was made of a beautiful, rich blue marble the color of the sky, with a white crackled look to it which seemed to glow somewhat. There didn't seem to be anything amiss with it, nor did there really seem to be another door.

I was about to go back and find another way, when the double doors I'd slipped through shut closed, and I heard something liken to a hissing noise.

Something was working, mechanisms of some past civilization had somehow come to life, for the room was changing. At the very back the stage seemed to open up, gears turned, and something rose from the empty hole, three statues of three women, all positioned identically and all with identical appearances. One, however, was made of a black marble, the other a white, and the last was a statue of silver. I could tell they had to be goddesses because of the mask-like quality their faces had, and the jewels that they held in their hands. The black one held a red one, the white held a blue, and the silver held a deep violet.

The three jewels were glowing, after a while that became obvious, and there was definitely no mistaking it. Then, quite suddenly, beams shot from these jewels at an upward angle, converging into one at a point high up, and spanning out into a million different directions like a starburst. The statues' eyes were glowing, and I felt a floating sensation even though my feet were still on the ground.

Then a single, brillant beam shot straight at my chest, hitting me directly in the middle of that eye shaped mark, but not hurting, no. I felt a tingling sensation, one that left me weak, as though my energy were being sucked right out of my body. I fell to my knees, gasping, my vision blurring.

I was afraid, what was going on? First the dragon and now this?

The world went black.

XD

"K-Kaida! Kaida can you hear me!?"

"Kaileena? Kaileena where are you!?"

"Please! You have to listen to me! Things are not as they seem! You are not what you seem! And Zervan is—Zervan is only a distraction! There's another, a cloak, a hood, and—you've got to—time is—don't—"

"Kaileena!"

XD

How long had I been out? Hours, minutes? I stood up, dazed and slightly confused. The statues weren't there anymore. In their place was an alter upon which something shone in the sunlight that was falling down from the ceiling.

I pulled off my hood in order to get a better breath and rubbed my face as I approached this alter. As I pulled it back on, I thought, at first, this something might be a leaver to raise the platform up to the hole, but it wasn't.

It was a sword, no, no, I picked it up by the handle, and most of the blade was left behind.

It was a daggertail.

Somehow, I'm not sure how, but just holding it, just seeing it…I knew what to do.

I summoned the ring back onto my finger so I could transform into a human again, and I pulled off the glove on my right hand, pulling up the sleeve as I did so. Then, with the hilt in my left hand, I pushed it into my wrist, the front of it, with the palm facing the hilt and around the level my sword was at.

There was a flash of light, and the daggertail disappeared. Another cut, much larger this time, appeared there.

For a long time, I simply stared at it, transfixed. I somehow knew that this daggertail wasn't going to be able to latch onto everything, but, I mean, come on! A daggertail! In my human form! I was not going to complain.

But where had it come from? That was the biggest issue. And how did I know how to put it into my wrist? Was this some sort of divine intervention from the goddesses those statues represented? It sure seemed that way.

"If…" I murmured, feeling a bit silly, but deciding to proceed anyway, "If you're listening up there, whoever you are, wherever you are, if you're a goddess, god, or many, thank you."

"No one's listening but me, Kaida." Sacrosanct chuckled.

"Yes, and that's exactly what you want me to believe isn't it?" I snapped back.

When I looked down again, I saw a small button where the sword had been and I slammed it down with my fist. The alter sank down into the ground, to be replaced by a rotating switch. I grabbed hold of it, and pushed.

As I pushed, the platform began to rise up, higher and higher. The light above me continued to get closer, until finally the circle that had risen up fit soundly into the hole, and I was blinking in daylight once more.

Only it the daylight was dimming down into dusk. How long had I been gone? And what had happened to Aizira, Alzik, and Tormal in this time? I knew Aizira would at least be alive, though she might not want to be anymore, but Alzik and Tormal…

And what if they had done alright for themselves? What if my training had given them the edge they needed to get through? Perhaps they couldn't defeat that dragon, but they might at least have escaped it and hidden somewhere in the ruins.

Guilt twisted my stomach as I began winding my way through the ruins. They had counted on me, and I had let them down. I should have stayed with them rather than rushing off to claim the glory of defeating the leader myself.

But would it have mattered? Would we have been able to get away, especially with that dragon?

I didn't know, I just hoped they were alive.

XP

Kioko: Well, since Rhea's still locked herself in her room and is sending out chapters via computer, I guess that means I'll have to take over for her.

Alzik: What? Who died and made you queen!

Kioko: No one died, but I am queen. And trust me, you do not want to know exactly what I am queen of. (Snickers)

Alzik: Grrrrrrr…

Kioko: Awwww, now don't be like that, let's be friends! Here, peace offering! (Hands him a cookie)

Alzik!.! Oh…wow…thank you! Now I feel like a jerk…(Eats cookie) (Turns into a teddy bear) 0.0

Kioko: I on the other hand, feel satisfied!

Aizira: ALZIK!!! Kioko what the hell!?!?

Kioko: Oh come on, you have to admit that's funny!

Kaida: (Rolling around on the floor laughing her head off)

Aizira: Well, okay, yeah, that is pretty funny.

Alzik: (Glares)

Aizira: (Snickers) Aw, but you're so CUTE like this!!!

Kioko: Isn't he?

DP: No, but it is funny.

Prince: What the heck!? What did he do to deserve that!?!?

Kaida: He was back-talking to Lady Hex. XD

Kioko: Setting that aside, who wants to do the FAQ this time around?

Kaida: I will.

Aizira: But I've never done it before!

Kioko: Okay Aizira you do it, but only because you laughed at my prank.

Aizira: Glee!

Q: What's going to happen when Malik finds out 'Amon's a girl 'himself' and much, much stronger than Aizira.

A: I dunno, he'll probably decide to switch his affection to her. THANK GOD!!!

Q: Where did you meet Malik in the first place?

A: I don't think the FAQ is the right place for a back story…

Q: If Malik's a rip off of Yugioh, how come he has the Blue Eyes White Dragon rather than the Winged Dragon of Ra?

A: I think that has something to do with the authoress reserving the right to mess things up so it's not a COMPLETE rip-off.

Q: Are Aizira and Kaida lesbian (or bi) or going to be?

A: 0.o EXCUSE ME!?!? NO WE ARE NOT!!! AND NO WE ARE NOT GOING TO BE NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU WANT US TO YOU SICK FREAK!!! Gods…

DP: Darn.

Kaida!.! WHAT THE HELL!?!? (Smacks him upside the head)

DP: Hey, I can dream can't I?

Kaida: NO!!! I'M NOT A LESBIAN, AND NOR AM I BI!!! IT'S A FREAK'N JOKE!!!

Q: So is the cloak-hood guy the main bad guy?

A: Um, probably, I dunno, you'll have to ask the authoress, but…she's not here, so, sorry!

Q: Are the others going to be alive?

A: Uh, yeah! We're alive! Malik wants me to be his gods-forsaken wife (Shudders) and he needs to keep my brothers alive so he has something with which to threaten me without having to hurt me.

Q: If the authoress likes Malik so much, how come she's making him into such a jerk-off?

A: Uhhhh…

Kioko: So she can have an excuse to beat him up in later chapters!

Q: Uh…why?

Kioko: Why else? Because it's fun to torture bishies. ):D

Aizira: You disturb me…

Kioko: (Snickers) Well, that's all for now. The last batch of reviews was pathetic. I do hope we can do better this time around. (Evil leer) (Begins chuckling sinisterly) If we get enough reviews, I'll make the Dark Prince strip in the next chapter's FAQ!

Kaida: 0.0…

DP: Heh, you'd like that wouldn't you babe?

Kaida:…maybe…